


Sugar and Fluff and All That Good Stuff

by jimblejams



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, also everyone is super gay, but what else is new, everyone's in college or older
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-02 09:36:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11506671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jimblejams/pseuds/jimblejams
Summary: The gang decides to hit up the pop-up carnival and Minhyuk loses a bet for cotton candy. He gets Sanha instead.(Alternatively: Minhyuk is a brat and then he meets Sanha. He's still a brat.)





	Sugar and Fluff and All That Good Stuff

**Author's Note:**

> this is technically the first astro fic i ever started writing. it all started bcos i was listening to cotton candy and suddenly i was like bUT WHAT IF SOCKY??? and yeah :)))) i had no idea where i was going with it. i still don't and it's _over_.
> 
> p.s.: everyone is aged up a few years in this fic. sanha's like a sophomore in college and minhyuk's a junior. dongmin didn't graduate in 4 yrs bcos LIFE but he's almost there. moonbin's a senior but he's literally only present for like five minutes so you don't gotta know and myungjin are obvs out n about adulting and shit. but ye even tho myungjin have that huge age gap with minhyuk they all grew up in the same neighborhood together hence friendshippp

Minhyuk rarely got excited for anything more than he did for dance but he couldn't deny that he was a fan of carnivals and amusement parks. What could he say? He was still a child at heart, no matter what his face said. So when Myungjun mentioned he wanted to stop by the week-long pop-up carnival that set up shop once or twice a year, Minhyuk had immediately launched himself into Myungjun's plans before the latter could mention Jinwoo and make it into a private date. Myungjun, however, seemed unfazed by Minhyuk's quick response, much to the younger's relief, and soon, everyone else agreed to go, one by one.

"Damn, I haven't been to that carnival since I was like ten," Jinwoo sighed nostalgically, sinking further into the couch. Minhyuk snorted at the sight of Myungjun giving himself a high-five.

"Yeah, we pass by it every year but it's always when I'm on the bus either going home or to work or class and there's just never a good time," Dongmin agreed, not once looking up from his book, however. It was on the art of coffee brewing. Dongmin had somehow snagged a job at a coffee shop and was in the middle of training to become a barista, though if Minhyuk was being honest, they'd probably only taken him in for his face and were hoping he'd become a decent barista with some extra training. Annoyingly enough, whatever Dongmin put his mind to, he pretty much always excelled at. Except maybe dancing, the thought of which always brought a smile to Minhyuk's face. He had to be better than Dongmin at something, right?

"Which is why I'm saying I want to go! If we're all free one of those days we should go together, like the old times!" Myungjun bounced in his seat by the kitchen island, flailing arms nearly knocking over his cup of ice cream in the process. Minhyuk simply shook his head from where he sat on the floor, leaning against the coffee table at the center of the living room. It was honestly more of a big, heavy box than a table since it was technically made for storage too. It also made for good back support when sitting on the ground. Everyone was spread out but the apartment was small yet open so it was easy to communicate. Minhyuk rather liked his apartment and had definitely lucked out with the rent on this one.

"I'm free on Saturday. That's the first night the carnival opens right? I saw them setting up yesterday and I think that's what it said on the sign," Jinwoo offered with a shrug.

"Yesss, this is why you're bae," Myungjun cooed, following up with puckering his lips at his boyfriend, and the other two in the room grimaced at each other almost reflexively. Of course the only time Dongmin actually broke away from his book was to make grossed out faces and laugh at Minhyuk's gagging in response to the couple. Sometimes Myungjun and Jinwoo were truly adorable. Most of the time Minhyuk just wanted to punch them both in the face.

"So Saturday?" Myungjun asked excitedly, ignoring the younger two.

"Saturday sounds good to me," Dongmin agreed eventually after checking his schedule on his phone. Minhyuk nodded in agreement and the plans were set.

 

Surprisingly, Saturday rolled around faster than expected and Minhyuk found himself contemplating what to wear for the day in front of his mirror. Myungjun had come by to pick him up and was already causing a ruckus by himself out in the living room. Minhyuk had insisted he didn't need the elder to come over that early but Myungjun, being the nosy and overenthusiastic hyung he was, took it upon himself to show up two hours early to "help pick an outfit." Of course that ended up in Myungjun doing anything _but_ helping Minhyuk pick an outfit, but who's surprised? No one.

Not wanting to leave his bedroom and find out what his friend was doing (read: destroying) in his apartment, Minhyuk sighed and after settling with a sleeveless shirt and nicely fitting jeans, (his ass looked A+ if he did say so himself) he shuffled over to his bathroom and went to work on his hair.

A crash from what Minhyuk assumed was the kitchen had his head turning so fast he nearly got whiplash. With a groan, he dropped the jar of pomade into the sink and threw the bathroom door open before stomping toward the origin of the crash.

"Hyung, for the _love of all things holy_  can you sit still for like two minutes—" he rounded the corner to find Myungjun frying eggs over the stove surrounded by probably every pot and pan Minhyuk owned, as well as half the stuff that had been in the fridge. The older of the two looked up from what seemed to be a rapidly burning pile of scrambled eggs that he was trying to unstick from the pan, spatula mid-scrape, when Minhyuk cut himself off.

"Uh—"

"What are you _doing_?" Minhyuk's body moved before his mind could process what was happening, immediately picking up stray pots and putting them back into their respective cabinets.

"Making an omelette, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"That is _not_  an omelette. and are you planning on making it with every pot in this house? Also why is all of this shit out of the fridge, you do not need that in your omelette," Minhyuk whined, nose scrunching in distaste at the jars of strawberry jam and cups of rice pudding.

"It's not my fault your frying pan was like in the back of some random cabinet behind all those pots. Oh, and I just wanted to eat the rice pudding. Actually I don't know why I took out the jam... or the salmon. Or the chicken wings." Myungjun shrugged and went back to scraping vigorously at the pan.

"Hyung, did you even put any oil in the pan before you threw the eggs in?" Minhyuk asked, exasperated and beyond done at that point. He was still storing away random bags of produce and wondering what the hell Myungjun had been planning to do with them.

"Uh... oil? Was I supposed to? Is it this thing?" Myungjun pointed at a bottle of cooking wine sitting in the corner behind the containers of salt, pepper, and sugar. Minhyuk closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was still early in the day. He needed to save his energy and think positive things like, _Myungjun hyung is bringing me to the carnival so let's be understanding of his lower levels of brain function and forgive him_.

"I swear if you ruin my pan you're buying me a new one," Minhyuk sighed and turned the fire off before taking the pan and spatula from the disaster standing there dumbly. "I'll make you an omelette. Please put the rest of the stuff back where you found it." The older of the two pouted (was he seriously the oldest of his friends, Minhyuk wondered) and began to dejectedly put things back in the refrigerator. It was quiet save for the sound of Minhyuk scrubbing the burnt egg off the pan and the occasional squeak of Myungjun asking where something belonged.

Not long after restoring everything (hopefully) correctly, Myungjun bounced back to his usual happy, carefree self, the burnt pan and kitchen mess incident completely forgotten as he danced wildly to music from his phone while the other cooked. It was hard not to give in and dance along when the music was so catchy and Myungjun was jabbing him in the side and kicking his butt to the beat of the song every chance he got. Despite the constant distraction, Minhyuk finished making a simple ham and cheese omelette and plated it, dancing his way to the kitchen island with Big Bang's _Fantastic Baby_ playing in the background. Myungjun was already shoveling egg into his mouth before the plate even met the countertop.

"I'm gonna finish getting ready and then we can head over to Jinwoo hyung's. Honestly, I don't know why you didn't just go get him first. I need some sort of buffer when I'm around you," Minhyuk complained, but it was halfhearted and Myungjun knew it, grinning up at him through a mouthful of egg and cheese.

Glancing up at the clock on the way out, Minhyuk saw that a good half an hour had passed and he hurried back to the bathroom to continue where he'd left off, running some pomade through his hair and playing around with the ends until he was happy with the result. He gave himself a quick pat down to make sure he had his phone, wallet, and keys, and then threw himself a wink in the mirror and a few finger guns for good measure.

"You ready hyung?" Minhyuk called out to the elder on his way out of the bathroom and made it to the kitchen in time to catch Myungjun washing the dishes. Okay, so he wasn't so terrible all the time. He couldn't cook for shit but at least he could wash the dishes fairly decently.

"Yeah, I'm just rinsing these and then we can go."

They wrapped up whatever they were doing, Myungjun with the dishes and Minhyuk with deciding what shoes to wear, and headed out to the janked up Toyota Corolla parked on the sidewalk. It was hard to complain when nobody else could afford a car amongst them but Minhyuk still managed to throw in a few comments every time he had to ride in the piece of junk.

"Ah yes, I never realize how much I miss being in this hot mess until I'm trying to put the god damn seat belt on and it won't. Fucking. Budge," Minhyuk bit out through clenched teeth as he struggled to yank the strap out enough to buckle himself in. He wasn't about to get into a vehicle being handled by the one and only Kim Myungjun himself without some form of protection. Being within a 5-foot radius of the former was always a risk.

"Hey, cut him some slack, will ya? Jinjin is turning seventeen this year. You just need to know how to handle him," Myungjun reached over and violently tugged on the seatbelt strap every which way before finally managing to get it to come out smoothly. Minhyuk watched in terror as the other buckled him in. "See? You just don't understand him." The younger scoffed and threw up his hands in surrender.

"My bad, you're right, it looks like you know exactly how to handle _Jinjin_. That was some skill there, that arm spasm you just had."

"Is that sarcasm I detect?"

"Oh God no, never."

Myungjun simply turned up the radio in favor of responding and sang obnoxiously to every song that came up until they pulled into the parking lot of Jinwoo's co-op to find the latter leaning against one of the garage doors. He honked a few times and cranked down the window enough to poke his head out.

"Babe! Get in!"

"He's right there why are you fucking screaming," Minhyuk covered his face in embarrassment when a few people turned to stare as they walked by.

"Language!" Myungjun scolded at the same time Jinwoo jogged over and knocked on the passenger window, signaling for the youngest of the three to get out.

"MJ my love, why are you fucking screaming and honking, I saw you pull in," Jinwoo laughed as Minhyuk got out and switched with him, happy to be getting into the backseat and letting Jinwoo deal with his boyfriend.

"I was excited! Plus, I couldn't tell if you could see me or not, your eyes are too small—" Jinwoo smacked him in the arm for that but laughed along nonetheless, bless his ever kind soul. There was probably no one else in existence that could handle being with Myungjun better than Jinwoo could. Minhyuk watched in fascination as Jinwoo did the same crazy tugging on the passenger seatbelt that Myungjun had done earlier and buckled himself in with ease.

"What the fuck."

"What'd I tell you?" Myungjun turned around to stick out his tongue.

"Hm?" Jinwoo turned as well, curious to know what the two were going on about.

"Minhyuk didn't believe me when I said that there's a specific way to put on the seatbelt. In your face," Myungjun made a face at the youngest and dodged a swipe from him with a laugh.

"Yeah, this is a fairly new development. I actually discovered the method to getting it to work since I'm in this seat the most," Jinwoo grinned proudly. Minhyuk simply shook his head at the two.

"Please get a new car soon. I don't know how much longer I can live with this. I feel like every time I get in this car it's a time bomb waiting to go off," Minhyuk whined, struggling to roll down the back window. After much effort, he gave up with a huff.

"But Jinjin has so much character and life! He holds a lot of our precious memories too. Right babe?" Myungjun winked over at his boyfriend and Minhyuk nearly threw himself out of the moving car right that moment.

"That's fucking gross, oh my God no—"

"Oh my God, Minhyuk, it's not like that, that's not what he meant—" Jinwoo smacked his boyfriend's arm and shot him a look.

"Like hell that's not what he meant! If anyone's having car sex it's you two since y'all are the only two who have a car to bang in anyway. Ew, oh my god, was it where I'm sitting now? Okay bye, I've been contaminated, It's over, I'm dying!" Minhyuk wailed and covered his face.

The rest of the car ride to Dongmin's studio apartment carried on much the same way with Myungjun saying stupid things, Minhyuk complaining about his ears bleeding, and Jinwoo trying but ultimately failing to salvage the situation. Needless to say, the car ride felt even longer than it already was.

Dongmin lived the furthest away from the three since he moved out on his own and had insisted that he be fully independent. He came from a fairly well-off family but he'd wanted to break free from that and really build himself up from the bottom. His family had agreed reluctantly and he'd managed to find himself a small studio a little further out. Granted it had taken him three different jobs to earn enough money for it but he never complained once, even when it put a halt on his studies.

Minhyuk also lived alone but he usually had a roommate or two and his last roommate just recently moved out, leaving him to carry the weight of the rent on his own. He'd had enough saved up to manage it for a little bit but he knew he needed to find a new roommate quick before he wasted all of his savings. He knew his family would be more than willing to help but after seeing Dongmin truly stick it out, it motivated him to solve the problem on his own instead of immediately turning back to his parents. He figured he'd pick up another part time job if he really couldn't find another roommate. Summer break meant he had a little more time to spare.

A car ride to Dongmin's usually took twenty minutes to half an hour but bus rides took at least double that time and they didn't want to make the poor guy take a bus out just to meet them at the carnival. But Dongmin had offered lunch and video games in exchange for picking him up and no one could really complain. Dongmin was probably the best cook amongst them, besides Minhyuk himself, a good skill to have when living alone. Plus he had Super Smash Bros. and DDR, the latter of which was ancient at this point, but he never could afford new game consoles so he simply brought his old ones out with him and did his best to keep them alive. Minhyuk couldn't recall the last time he'd seen a PS2 or Gamecube outside of Dongmin's apartment.

It was just past noon when they arrived and Minhyuk was glad to be out of the car, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. Dongmin's studio was on the fifth floor and as usual, there was no working elevator, but the trio was so used to this, they climbed the five flights with ease.

"Damn, remember when Dongmin just moved in and we couldn't even walk up two flights without wheezing?" Jinwoo chuckled as he knocked on the door.

"Uh speak for yourself?"

"Shut up, Minhyuk, not everyone here is a choreographer with thighs of steel." 

"Yeah, my butt and legs look great ever since Dongmin moved out," Myungjun sighed happily, turning to admire his own behind while the other two swatted at each other playfully. The door swung open at that moment to reveal Dongmin in his apron and a pair of chopsticks in hand. Not even batting an eyelash, he gestured toward his kitchen area and stepped aside.

"Well, lunch is ready."

 

Going to a carnival early in the day wasn't as fun as it was going at night when the sun was going down and all the bright and colorful lights got switched on. So the plan had been to head over to Dongmin's for lunch, chill and play games until the evening rolled around, go out for a quick and cheap dinner, and _then_  go to the carnival. Or something along those lines. After screaming and shoving each other over Super Smash Bros. and getting yelled at by the neighbors below for making too much noise during DDR from their stomping and jumping, the four of them fell to the floor in a heap of laughter and sweat.

"I'm hungry," Minhyuk mumbled after a moment of silence. Dancing to _Sandstorm_ over and over again on the highest level because you liked the song happened to do that to you. Dongmin chuckled and nodded toward the kitchen area.

"There's a little kimchi fried rice left if you want."

Jinwoo glanced at his watch and got up with a groan.

"It's 5:30 already, we should go grab an early dinner now and go straight to the carnival after," Jinwoo suggested with a stretch. Myungjun sprung to his feet as well and skittered over to the bathroom.

"After I pee!"

"So what are we eating?" Minhyuk asked the remaining two in the room. He was the youngest of the lot so he often let the others decide unless they explicitly asked him to pick. Plus, he wasn't too picky of a guy when it came to food. In fact, the rest were usually pickier than him. It was easier to just let them decide based on that fact alone. Jinwoo shrugged and turned to Dongmin for an answer instead.

"You pick! You gave us free lunch, you can pick tonight's food."

Dongmin pursed his lips in thought and began to count off on his fingers places they could potentially go that wouldn't give them explosive diarrhea and would still keep their wallets in tact as well. It was a toughie. Minhyuk zoned out as the other two went back and forth suggesting and rejecting ideas until Myungjun came back from the bathroom, plopping down onto his boyfriend's lap without preamble. Jinwoo didn't seem deterred by this, poking his head out from behind the other's torso with practiced ease to continue his conversation with Dongmin. Myungjun leaned over to try and block Jinwoo's vision again and they moved back and forth a few times, the younger playing along for a while before eventually pinching the elder's side in retaliation. Myungjun screeched and leapt out of Jinwoo's lap, straight into the floor. Dongmin simply offered another suggestion. The oldest pouted. Minhyuk snorted, only half paying attention now to watch Myungjun suffer.

"That Chinese takeout place by our old high school?"

Minhyuk perked up at that.

"Oh my God i haven't been there in ages," he quipped, earning the attention of everyone in the room. That happened sometimes. Minhyuk would zone out, be quiet for a while, and suddenly appear in the conversation again, throwing everyone off guard. He smiled sheepishly at that.

"Sure, we could go there. I haven't been there in a while too. They had such good chicken wings, ugh," Jinwoo closed his eyes and grinned just thinking about it.

"So it's settled," Dongmin smiled softly and got out of his ratty sofa to stretch.

The four filed out of the apartment into Myungjun's car and started the journey back toward their hometown. This time around, Minhyuk managed to roll down the window with the help of Dongmin and spent most of the ride with his arm out the window, wind whipping through his hair as he sang passionately along to BTS on the radio. These days were always his favorite. Spending time with his closest friends, screaming songs from the top of their lungs in a Corolla that was going to fall apart any second. Living life on the edge, you know?

They ended up having to order their food to go and eat it in the car because the place was packed with high school kids probably also on their way to the carnival. Minhyuk didn't recognize any of them but he never did look far from his tight friend group so even if you asked him who someone in his grade was even while he was still in high school, if it wasn't one of his friends, he probably didn't know. Plus, he'd been out of high school long enough for the names and faces of his past classmates to fade. He remembered being in high school and the fact that he spent his days surrounded by different people. But in the end, his brain only cared about the ones who mattered to him. He hoped none of the underclassmen at the takeout place recognized him because he'd be embarrassed to admit he had no clue who they were. He simply recognized them as high school students because, well, they were high school students. It'd be harder not to spot a group of them.

Luckily, no one approached them, though every single one of them stopped chatting to stare unabashedly at Dongmin when they walked in. They were used to that though. As soon as they grabbed their food and opened the door to leave, the place blew up in hushed whispers as the high schoolers squealed over the tall man. Minhyuk rolled his eyes. Dongmin didn't even seem to notice that people stared at him like that anymore. At first it used to bother him in middle and high school when puberty was slowly making its rounds throughout the campus. He felt uncomfortable with all that attention. However, by the end of high school, he was so over it that he stopped paying anyone any mind anymore. As long as people didn't approach him, he was good at tuning them out.

"Don't fucking get sauce on my seats," Myungjun hissed at the youngest as they got back into the car.

"Relax, I'm not a klutz like you. Plus, your seats have probably met worse fluids in their lifetime." Minhyuk mumbled that last statement but everyone heard it anyway, Jinwoo choking on his can of Sprite, and Dongmin whipping around to give him a pained look of betrayal.

"I was so ready to eat," Dongmin whined at the same time Myungjun shrugged and nodded in response.

"You right, you right."

Jinwoo couldn't stop laughing even as he coughed through the Sprite that went up his nose, and Myungjun grinned cheekily, patting his boyfriend on the back.

Their low-cost but still just as delicious dinner went by in a flash with Dongmin inhaling his food despite his earlier complaints and Minhyuk making it through without getting any sauce or other stains onto the car seats.

The carnival was a quick three minute drive from the Chinese takeout joint but no one wanted to walk it, unsurprisingly, so Myungjun sped them there and finally, _finally_ , they made it. The sun was setting and the lights were on and the sound of screaming and laughter filtered out to the group as they got out of the car.

 Myungjun and Jinwoo both let out an excited holler of their own and ran toward the entrance. No one would ever believe they were the older two at first glance. That's just how life worked though. People thought when they grew up they would lose that playfulness inside, that being an adult meant the opposite of being a child. Sometimes that was true. Other times, in Myungjun and Jinwoo's case specifically, the child never left just because the adult came into the picture. Because they always noticed how the younger ones wanted to grow up faster and how the older ones wanted to return to childhood, they made sure they always had a little bit of their childhood close by.

Minhyuk and Dongmin ran after the duo with matching enthusiasm and the bright life of the carnival welcomed them with children running around holding cotton candy and couples holding stuffed toys and each other's hands.

"Last person to win a toy buys cotton candy for us!" Myungjun screamed, running to one of the balloon popping booths.

"You have the worst aim, why would you pick this game?" Dongmin laughed, walking over to the ring toss stationed next to them. Minhyuk laughed and was content to Snapchat Myungjun and Jinwoo throwing darts aimlessly while trying to shove each other aside at the same time. Neither of them seemed to be winning anything anytime soon anyway. Dongmin was calmly throwing the rings and though he missed quite a few, the person manning the booth gave him a stuffed bunny anyway, saying he was only one ring away from winning a toy so she'd let him have it. Dongmin grinned victoriously and waved goodbye to the clearly infatuated girl and hopped back over to Minhyuk's side while waving his bunny all around.

"I saw that, you annoyingly handsome cheater," Minhyuk rolled his eyes but smiled and let it go anyway. Myungjun would probably be last anyway.

The younger two went for a shooting game next, wasting money on a few rounds before Minhyuk decided to give up on that and try another game. He was about to try the basketball hoops when the crazy duo came skipping over both with a stuffed prize in hand.

"We did it!" Jinwoo cheered, cackling at the empty-handed Minhyuk. Even Dongmin was surprised with the turnout.

"How could you lose to Myungjun! He's the worst at these games!" Dongmin exclaimed in amused disbelief. Minhyuk fell to his knees dramatically.

"I have brought great dishonor to my family..." He buried his face in his hands as Jinwoo continued to point and laugh.

"What can I say? Jinwoo's my lucky charm. Right babe?" Myungjun turned to peck said man on the cheek but Minhyuk simply scoffed.

"That means he probably won that for you. You're all cheaters!" He got to his feet and dusted off his knees after the whole act and the smile on his face was genuinely warm. He didn't really care that he lost or had to get cotton candy for them all. However, he vowed to get a toy by the end of the night. If little kids could do it, so could he.

"Time for cotton candy~" Dongmin sang cheerfully, the happiest among them to have sweets. Minhyuk headed off to look for the cotton candy as the rest of them scattered off to play more games and take gross couple photos. Poor Dongmin was left to that task since Minhyuk left and he was kind of glad he didn't have to play photographer that night.

There was quite a line to the cotton candy machine, Minhyuk noticed when he found it. In fact, the line was the only reason he saw the cotton candy machine in the first place. It was when he got closer to the front that he realized it was because the cotton candy was free with a suggested donation box sitting in front. It was part of a fundraising event of some sort. When Minhyuk was second in line, he couldn't help but notice that the man before him was being a complete dick.

"Sir, I understand that it's not necessary to pay for the cotton candy but that being said, if you keep coming back for more, there won't be enough for others to take. It's suggested that you donate a dollar or two to charity if you come back for seconds. Or fifths in your case," the tall and skinny boy working the cotton candy machine said politely. Minhyuk peeked over curiously to see what was happening.

"Right, keyword: _suggested_. I don't have to pay a dime out of my pocket for this no matter how many times I come back. Are you gonna give me the cotton candy or not? You can't really say no," the man replied snidely, arms crossed. The guy behind the machine pursed his lips and forced a smile onto his face as he thrusted the cotton candy toward the man. Minhyuk watched as the man in front of him snatched the cotton candy out of the taller guy's hand and walked away indignantly. Minhyuk frowned at this, the person working the machine clearly peeved as he huffed and blew a golden curl of hair out of his eyes. It was another moment before he seemed to snap out of it, realizing there was still a line of people waiting for him to spin them some fluffed out sugar.

"Ah, sorry, I'll have it ready in a minute lemme just er— find some more sugar," the boy smiled apologetically, and Minhyuk was suddenly struck with the thought that the boy was really cute. Like excruciatingly so.

"Oh no, take your time. Sorry, that guy was a jerk. How many did you say he took already? I'll pay for them," Minhyuk offered, genuinely feeling bad as he read the donation box and saw that the money was going toward ending world hunger. The boy stopped at that, visibly softening and smiling as he shook his head.

"Don't apologize for another guy's douchebaggery. You don't have to pay for his cotton candy either. But I'd appreciate it if you donated of your own will. Technically." The boy grinned cleverly, and there was a twinkle to his eye that did all sorts of things to Minhyuk. The latter couldn't help the amused chuckle that he let out as he dropped six dollars into the donation box.

"I'd donate more but I'm trying not to use too much money when I'm out. Broke college life, ya feel?"

"Oh God, don't I know it," the taller of the two replied as he poured the sugar in and went to grab a fresh box of paper cones. As he began to spin the cotton candy, Minhyuk suddenly remembered he was supposed to get all of his friends cotton candy. Right.

"Oh shit, wait, I'm sorry I totally forgot but can you actually make me like... three? I'll pay for those too! I forgot these are for my friends. I lost a game so..." He scratched at his neck, cheeks warming because asking for more than one of a complimentary item always made him really uncomfortable. It felt wrong to be asking for more than one, even if it was for his friends, and especially because they weren't physically there with him at the moment.

A bark of laughter snapped him out of his own anxious thoughts and he looked up to see a big poof of pink in front of him.

"Of course you can have more! You're donating to a good cause." Minhyuk let out a breath of relief and smiled as he took the cotton candy from the other's hand, plucking a small piece off and popping it into his mouth. It wasn't for him but it was hard to resist when it was right there. He didn't want to ask for one for himself either because that meant more time and effort spent on him when the line behind him was growing. He didn't like to make people wait either.

"Okidokes, here you are!" The boy grinned cheerfully when he finished making the last of the three and Minhyuk thought he could feel his insides slowly melting. He carefully took it from the other, cautious not to drop the other two, and found himself blocking his entire view. Perhaps he was imagining things but his cotton candy was way bigger than he remembered seeing others' being when they walked away with their puffs of blue or pink.

"Thanks so much. Also I think it's really cool that you're taking time and energy to do all this for such an amazing charity. It's really admirable," Minhyuk said softly, suddenly shy yet mushy now that it was time to say goodbye. The moment was over. He'd paid for cotton candy and gotten it. It was a good three minutes of his life. Call him crazy but he could've sworn he saw a shift in the boy's face as Minhyuk waved goodbye. The boy shook his head.

"No, thank you. We need more people like you who are mindful of issues that need attending to and actually help when they can. I just spin cotton candy here. You're the one stopping world hunger," he gushed, cheeks scrunching up with the strength of his smile. Minhyuk nearly died right there. Could there be a brighter, sweeter angel in existence? The answer to that was no, as far as Minhyuk was concerned.

"Oh please, it's what people do. Nothing amazing about a few bucks."

He waved goodbye with cotton candy in both hands and grinned one last time before turning to search for his friends. They must've all spread out because the only person he could see was Dongmin but he wasn't with the other two, instead chatting to a stranger holding a hot dog in each hand. They were both laughing and talking animatedly and Minhyuk didn't want to interrupt so he turned the other way to search for Myungjun and Jinwoo. He eventually found the two sipping on a huge slushee together while watching a bunch of little kids scream on the baby roller coaster ride. They seemed to be debating getting on the ride as well.

"Your cotton candy has arrived," Minhyuk interrupted with a grin and Jinwoo's face lit up, immediately letting go of the slushee to reach for the candy fluff.

"Where's Dongmin? He probably took the biggest one, didn't he?" Jinwoo took his share and passed one to Myungjun as well. Minhyuk shook his head.

"No, this is his." Jinwoo paused at that, looking up from behind his cotton candy.

"Where's yours?" Minhyuk smiled and shrugged.

"Didn't want any. Plus the line was really long I didn't want to hold it up more."

"Nonsense! Let's go back, I'll get you one," Jinwoo insisted, looking around for the cotton candy stand. "Or eat this one and get another one for Dongmin since he disappeared. He can wait a little longer." Minhyuk laughed at that.

"Oh, I don't think he cares. He seemed to be having a good ol' time without the cotton candy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Myungjun asked as Jinwoo wiped some stray sugar off his lip. Myungjun grinned and blew him a kiss. Gross.

"He was talking to some guy and they were laughing and looking all happy..." Minhyuk looked the two in front of him up and down before grimacing. "Kind of like you two." The couple whipped around at that, undivided attention suddenly all on Minhyuk.

"Like what? Oh my god were they flirting? Do they know each other? Are they dating?" Myungjun asked rapidly, jumping up and down excitedly. Jinwoo looked equally as excited, grabbing his boyfriend's arm and shaking.

"I don't know, why don't you go ask them yourselves?" Minhyuk grinned slyly, leading them back to the food truck he'd last seen Dongmin standing in front of. Fortunately, the pair was still standing there, though this time they seemed to be sharing a funnel cake and Minhyuk swore Jinwoo nearly fainted right there at the sight.

"Do you _see_  them, they're sharing a funnel cake!" Jinwoo hissed into Myungjun's ear. They were hiding around the corner of a game booth, not really caring that the person working the booth was giving them weird looks.

"Damn, what the heck, the guy's cute," Myungjun commented, earning himself a smack in the head.

"Of course he's cute. Dongmin only deserves someone as wonderful and beautiful as him," Jinwoo hissed again.

"Why are we whispering? They're like way over there," Minhyuk wondered aloud, and the two elders turned back to give him matching looks of disdain.

"We're spying, Minhyuk," Myungjun deadpanned like it was the most obvious thing in the world. They turned back around to continue whispering and giggling until Minhyuk couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm gonna go give Dongmin hyung the cotton candy and see who this dude is—" he barely finished the sentence before Jinwoo grabbed him by the shirt to pull him back.

"What, no! What if the guy thinks you're his boyfriend or something?" Minhyuk just snorted.

"That's why you'll all come with me."

And that was exactly what they did, Minhyuk leading the pack with the cotton candy in hand and the couple behind him spying over his shoulder. He had to shake them off multiple times on the walk over. "Can you guys be a little less obvious?" When they were a mere twenty feet away, they finally broke free from Minhyuk's back and acted somewhat naturally since Dongmin was clearly in sight. The latter noticed them coming before they could surprise him and Minhyuk waved his cotton candy to look a little less suspicious.

"Hyung!" He called out cheerily at his friend and glanced over at the stranger who had turned to see who Dongmin was looking at.

"Cotton candy!" Dongmin yelled, seemingly unbothered by his friends' presence. When the cotton candy was finally in his hand, the chance to pounce came.

"So, who's this, if you don't mind me asking?" Myungjun cut in as Dongmin was eating the candy. The stranger blushed, but it could've also just been a trick of the light since it was night and there were colorful lights all around.

"Hi, I'm Moon Bin. You must be Dongmin's friends. We were just talking about you, actually," the boy introduced himself with a shy smile.

"About good things only, I hope. I'm Jinwoo, nice to meet you. This is my boyfriend Myungjun. And this here is Minhyuk," Jinwoo introduced the group while Dongmin smiled awkwardly between them.

"Good job introducing us, Dongmin," Myungjun scoffed, stealing a puff of cotton candy from said man.

"I was going to but Jinwoo hyung beat me to it," he pouted.

"So what trash were you saying about us?" Minhyuk asked with a grin, and Moon Bin shook his head with a laugh.

"Actually he was just wondering where you were and then you guys showed up magically. There was no time for slander, sadly," he joked, and Minhyuk decided he liked the guy's sense of humor.

"Are you here with friends too?"

"Oh, no I'm actually working this food truck. Or I was and I'm on a small break right now. You guys want anything?"

Moon Bin offering food meant Jinwoo and Myungjun were definitely on board with this guy and suddenly any awkward tension was broken. Dongmin looked visibly more relaxed now that the group was talking comfortably and sharing curly fries and laughing. Minhyuk smiled at that. Dongmin wasn't an unhappy or lonely person by any means, not when he was friends with some of the weirdest, happiest people on the planet. However, he never made many close friends outside of their little group. He didn't really date much at all either. There was this untouchable air about him, this wall he had up that Minhyuk always hoped someone would shatter. It didn't take a genius to see that Moon Bin was doing that right then. Whoever this guy was, he must've been awesome.

"Yo Bin! It's dying out now, you can go if you want," the boy from inside the food truck called out, and Moon Bin looked at the boy like he was an angel sent from heaven. Dongmin looked like he had similar thoughts.

"Thanks Chanwoo! I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, have fun making heart eyes at your new boyfriend," Chanwoo smirked, and Moon Bin immediately grabbed a plastic spoon and threw it at him.

"He's not my boyfriend, you buttface!"

But it was too late. Everyone was already looking between Moon Bin and Dongmin with knowing smiles. Moon Bin looked like he was ready to wipe all those grins off their faces and he probably would've but a new voice called out for him.

"Bin hyung!"

Everyone looked past Moonbin to see a tall, lanky boy jogging toward them— wait.

"Oh, Sanha! You're still here?"

"Yeah, I just finished wrapping up. We raised a lot of money today, and there was this guy, oh my God, let me _tell_  you—" Minhyuk cleared his throat and the boy, Sanha, jerked, startled. He looked over Moon Bin's shoulder to find four other guys just staring at him. His eyes widened at the sight of Minhyuk standing there among them.

"It's you! Oh my God, do you know Binnie hyung too?" Sanha asked, eyes wide and practically sparkling under the moonlight. Or carnival lights, whatever.

"I— uh, we just met since he knows Dongmin hyung apparently."

"Dongmin hyung?" There was a curious lilt to his voice and Moon Bin just laughed nervously and stepped aside to reveal Sanha to the group.

"Everyone, this is Sanha, Sanha, this Dongmin, Jinwoo, Myungjun, and Minhyuk." Sanha's eyes landed on him and lingered for a moment before they were forced to look away in order to properly greet the group.

"It's nice to meet you all! I see the cotton candy was for you guys," Sanha noted, eyeing the cotton candy the three beside him were holding. There was a slight pout to his lips but Minhyuk was starting to wonder if that was just what the guy looked like. He was like a giant, skinny, baby.

"Oh, yeah. Lost a bet, had to buy it for them. Stole some from Myungjun hyung's though," Minhyuk confessed with a grin. The eldest smacked him in the arm for it.

"So uh, what are you guys up to now? Are you gonna stick around some more or go out after or..." Sanha asked the group, though he was mostly looking at Minhyuk, and the latter had to fight not to show how much it was affecting him. He was usually pretty good at hiding his emotions and staying firm and stable so people called him a rock. But this was proving difficult even for the rock himself as he struggled not to smile too wide or fidget under the gaze.

"Well, we were thinking of chilling a little longer and maybe getting on some rides for the heck of it before heading home," Jinwoo explained, and Sanha's eyes visibly brightened at the idea.

"Is it okay if we join you?"

"Of course! We have an even group now so we can all sit in pairs and no one gets left out," Jinwoo grinned, glancing over at Dongmin who gave him a quick glare before smiling back at Moon Bin who'd just turned to look at him.

"Let's go, I've been eyeing that roller coaster ride for a while now," Myungjun said, determination in his eyes.

"Roller coaster is kind of a stretch, don't you think?" Jinwoo chuckled but went along with the plan anyway, leading the pack over to said ride. It was a stretch indeed, the cars themselves little faux wood crates with a single safety bar that Minhyuk thought he could break with his bare hands. Not that it would matter if he did because it was literally impossible to fall out of the ride unless one got up and jumped out.

"Are we even going to fit in that?" Dongmin wondered aloud, peeking over the shoulders of people in line before them, mostly just there for their children.

"We're gonna make it work!" Myungjun insisted, probably more hyped about getting on the ride than was normal for a man in his mid-twenties. Jinwoo simply looked like he had already accepted his fate. Plus, if anyone was going to fit, it was them two.

"Guess you're sitting with me, huh?" Sanha's voice was suddenly a lot closer than before and Minhyuk jerked, nearly smacking his face into Sanha's from turning so fast. Luckily, the taller boy had been expecting that and pulled back, standing back at his full height with a smile that was too bright for this time of night. Minhyuk could do nothing but return the smile, nodding.

"Myungjun and Jinwoo are an item if you couldn't already tell so they're definitely sitting together," Minhyuk explained, nodding ahead at the couple. Sanha followed the dancer's gaze to find said duo tippy-toeing to see who could get taller and look down at the other before Jinwoo finally gave in with a laugh and pecked Myungjun on the nose since the latter was refusing to let him reach the forehead. Sanha nodded in understanding with a soft _ahh_. He looked almost enchanted by the two. It was a look that Minhyuk saw a lot on others when they looked at the couple. They always looked like they were meant for each other, unbreakable. In a way, they kind of were. Minhyuk had always known it, even before the two started dating officially.

Snapping out of his daze abruptly, Sanha focused back on the young man beside him.

"And Binnie hyung is definitely sitting with your friend, just look at them. How much you wanna bet—"

"I can hear you, Sanha, you're _right_  behind us and you're not being very discreet," Moon Bin chimed in, not even bothering to turn around and look at them. Sanha scoffed.

"Who said I was trying to be discreet? Anywho, Minhyuk how much you wanna bet they're gonna—" Moon Bin cut off Sanha's chance to finish once again by spinning around and poking him repeatedly in the stomach, pulling a high-pitched shriek out of Sanha that startled even Minhyuk, who had not been expecting that sound to come out of the other's mouth at all.

Without thinking, Minhyuk burst into laughter at the screeching, ignoring all of Sanha's cries for help as he continued to get assaulted by Moon Bin's tickling.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Moon Bin muttered eventually, stopping only because Sanha's screaming was gaining the attention of basically the entire carnival. Dongmin just watched, looking amused and slightly like he wanted to jump Moonbin right then and there.

"You didn't even try to save me, you monster," Sanha accused, still breathing heavily from all the tickling. Minhyuk was still recovering from the screeching.

"Moon Bin looks like he could knock me out with his pinky, I'm sorry but I had to let you go," Minhyuk stage whispered.

"See if I ever save you if he does knock you out with his pinky," Sanha huffed, crossing his arms cutely. Everything he did was just cute, whether he intended for it to be or not. Minhyuk had never met someone who could radiate so much cuteness so naturally without being cringeworthy.

"So, you're a student?" Minhyuk asked, changing the subject just as they reached the front of the line. They were guided to the car behind Dongmin's, which just so happened to be the last empty one so they just made the cut.

"Yep! I go to the uni nearby," Sanha explained as they squeezed into their seats. Minhyuk knew the ride was for kids but Sanha made the seat look like it was for babies, his legs folded in what looked like a pretty uncomfortable angle, knees poking out. He was having trouble pulling the safety bar down because of it. Minhyuk chuckled at the sight of Sanha's tongue poking out in concentration and reached over to help, touching a hand to the taller boy's knee to pull it down to the side. If he just spread his knees out he could bring them down a little further, as if he were about to sit cross-legged, and then the bar could come down all the way. Their knees would be touching at all times but was Minhyuk complaining? Certainly not.

"Ah, are you sure that's not uncomfortable? Sorry my legs are so long," Sanha giggled, jiggling his legs into Minhyuk's. The dancer just about dissolved into a puddle of goo right then and there. How could a person be _that_  cute?

"Are you bragging right now? Just shush, it's fine," Minhyuk pinched his knee in retaliation, pulling another squeal from him.

"Guys, keep it PG," Dongmin joked over his shoulder.

"Speak for yourself," Minhyuk shot back without a second thought. He stuck out his tongue when the elder turned around to glare at him.

"Don't be jealous that I'm tall. There are perks to being short too," Sanha offered matter-of-factly.

"Are you making fun of me because I can and will push you off this ride."

"So I can fall a meter to the ground? Sure, I guess," Sanha shrugged, looking over the edge.

"I can't believe I thought you were cute," Minhyuk mumbled. Sanha perked up at that, grinning.

"You think I'm cute?"

"Thought. Past-tense. T'was. No longer is."

"Hey guys, Minhyuk thinks I'm cute!" Sanha yelled.

"No one cares," Moon Bin replied, voice monotone.

"You're dead to me," Sanha replied, equally as flat. The ride started then, jerking into motion so abruptly Sanha shrieked, grabbing onto Minhyuk's thigh instead of the bar.

"Sanha, we're on a children's ride-"

"What the fuck, is this a rock?"

Both Moon Bin and Dongmin turned around.

"Stop screaming, you obnoxious giant," Moon Bin snipped at the same time Dongmin sighed and shook his head, eyeing Sanha's hand.

"I thought I said keep it PG."

Minhyuk only shrugged when Sanha yanked his hand away as if he'd been burnt. Dongmin sent him a wink anyway.

The rest of the ride was uneventful except for all of the sarcastic screaming that they did anytime the ride even remotely began to go downward or sideways. They mostly ignored the dirty looks other parents sent their way for being obnoxious the whole time because they were used to that by now.

"Wait! I want that!" Sanha yelled, pointing at the giant bunny at one of the game booths they passed after getting off the ride. "Let's go, can we go? I didn't get to try for any prizes all day because I was working," Sanha whined, dragging the group towards the booth. No one seemed to have any complaints and instead, it suddenly became everyone's mission to win the stuffed animal for Sanha.

Minhyuk wasn't quite sure why (that's a lie, yes he was) but he was more fired up than usual to win, not wanting anyone else to be the one to give the bunny to Sanha. It definitely helped that Sanha was mostly cheering him on and everyone else was just playing halfheartedly, too busy just trying to have a good time to be invested in winning anything.

After about two tries, everyone began to give up one by one, Myungjun and Jinwoo already drifting off to another game, the eldest’s loud voice fading with distance. Moonbin and Dongmin didn't even seem to remember that they were playing a game to win the bunny for Sanha anymore, because Moonbin had won a prize and Minhyuk's heart stopped for a moment before Moonbin chose a different prize and gave it to Dongmin instead. Sanha didn't seem to care either, too busy paying attention to Minhyuk's progress. Just for that, Minhyuk was more determined than ever to win the bunny. Part of him was laughing himself for being so soft for this giant baby that he'd just met not even an hour ago but another part of him kept repeating _what if, what if, what if_...

He glanced over his shoulder to see Myungjun and Jinwoo still sharing the same slushee from earlier, noses brushing as they drank from it at the same time, and with a start, Minhyuk realized that he _wanted_ that. Or at least some part of it. Well, everyone usually did. Minhyuk just thought he'd been exempt from that since he was a happy single. It meant more freedom, more money saved, and more time. But as he turned back around to look up at this lanky kid with bright, wavy hair and a pout to his lips that never seemed to go away, his mind started to wander. He didn't know this guy at all. Things might never work out. They might not see each other ever again after that night. He could turn out to be some psycho axe murderer. But at the end of it all, Minhyuk knew it was too late. The switch had been flipped. He was attracted and he knew himself well enough to know that his interest was piqued and when his eyes were set on something, it meant he had to do something about it. Minhyuk didn't like to live his life wondering what could've happened. He knew he was going to go for something. And his first step, cliché as it was, was going to be this stupid stuffed animal.

"You won! Bunny, bunny!" Sanha screamed, gesturing wildly at the lady to get the stuffed bunny. Minhyuk hadn't even realized he'd won, too lost in thinking about _how_ to do it, how to impress Sanha. Well. He did it.

"Yeah, can we get the bunny please?" Minhyuk nodded when the lady looked over to him for confirmation. He reached for the prize when she brought it over to them, eager to give it to Sanha himself. "Here. Your dumb bunny."

"Thank you," Sanha giggled, hugging the bunny to himself.

Neither of them could keep the smile off their faces for the next twenty minutes, but everyone else was so lost in their own worlds they didn't even question it, which was honestly what Minhyuk preferred anyway. He didn't look forward to all the attention he was going to get from his friends once they realized he was actually interested in Sanha.

"So, do you live around here?" Sanha asked as they walked side by side aimlessly, elbows and shoulders bumping every now and then. It was a warm, clear night and the air was nice around them. Minhyuk felt more at ease than he'd been the whole night.

"Actually, I grew up here. I don't live at home anymore but I'm still nearby. Next town over. It's closer to my school there, but close to home too," Minhyuk explained, looking down so he could match his strides with Sanha's. It was hard though what with the other's long legs.

"Really? I grew up here too!" Sanha exclaimed, surprising Minhyuk. "Does that mean we went to the same high school?" He wondered aloud, hugging the bunny tighter, eyebrows furrowing in thought.

"No way, how old are you?"

"I'm ninteen this year, you?"

"What? Seriously? I'm twenty. That means you were a grade below me!" Minhyuk scoured his brain for any memories of underclassmen in high school that might've caught his eye. It was hard not to notice someone like Sanha.

"Were you in any clubs?" Sanha asked, jittery now that he knew that they'd attended the same high school. Any connection was good. It meant more to talk about, more to bond over. Minhyuk nodded, blinking and leaning back subconsciously with the way Sanha was staring at his face so intently.

"Yeah, I was part of the dance team..."

"Oh my god, really? No wonder..." Sanha's eyes drifted down to Minhyuk's thighs and the latter's hands slowly went to cover his thighs, pulling a laugh out of the taller boy. "You do look kind of familiar. I think I might've seen you perform before. You've never seen me perform in school? You don't think I look familiar?" Sanha asked, tucking the bunny under his arm so he could cup his face with both hands and smile. Minhyuk looked closely, searching his face for any sign of high school memories but came up with nothing.

"I'm really bad at remembering people from high school, especially if I don't know them. But it's hard to forget a face like that... Plus you're so tall. Is it possible we just never saw each other?" Minhyuk scratched his neck and squinted harder at Sanha like that would miraculously summon up some old memories. Sanha pouted but couldn't ignore the masked compliment, face warming.

"There's this thing called puberty, okay? It hit me a little late. I used to be short and wear glasses and braces."

"Oh... maybe that's why. You were a little nerd."

"At least puberty did _me_ some justice."

"Ow, what the heck? So this is the real you," Minhyuk clutched his heart dramatically. Sanha grinned smugly and elbowed him lightly.

"Yeah, so don't mess with me, I will wreck you."

It didn't hit them until a moment later how that statement sounded and Sanha immediately flushed red, coughing and turning away to look for the others. Minhyuk bit his lip to stop himself from reacting and cleared his throat as well. Any other day, any other person, and Minhyuk would've easily responded with a lewd joke. But Sanha seemed so young and innocent (if you ignored his moments of savagery) and Minhyuk didn't want to change that part of him. He wanted to see how Sanha would grow and develop. _Blossom_ , if you will. The thought alone made Minhyuk giddy. He wanted to _know_ this guy.

"Gee, I wonder where Binnie hyung went..." Sanha wondered aloud, craning his head to look around.

"Probably being gross with Dongmin hyung somewhere, to be honest," Minhyuk mumbled. Sanha covered his ears and shook his head.

"No, I don't want to hear it, ew."

"Relax, they're probably somewhere nearby. Hopefully Jinwoo hyung is keeping an eye on them."

"Nah, he’s probably too busy keeping his eye on Myungjun." Surprised at the accuracy of the younger's words, Minhyuk couldn't help but be a little s h o o k.

"Damn, what the hell, you've literally known these guys for like two hours tops and you've already got their quirks down pat." Sanha shrugged, looking a little smug again.

"What can I say? They're obvious as hell."

"True. I don't know, I might just keep you," Minhyuk teased with a grin. It definitely worked though because Sanha was spluttering again.

“YO ROCKY SWAG!” Myungjun suddenly yelled out of nowhere as he leapt onto Minhyuk’s back from behind. The younger groaned and pinched Myungjun in the thigh.

“I was _seventeen_! Why are we still bringing that up?”

“What the hell is Rocky Swag?” Sanha asked, the little upturn of his lips an indication that Minhyuk probably shouldn’t ever let Sanha know about it because he’d probably never let him live it down.

“I’ll tell you if you buy me ice cream,” Myungjun offered, only to get smacked upside the head by Jinwoo.

“Stop being a menace to society.”

“I’m not. Just to Minhyuk. ‘Cause he’s a brat.” Myungjun only grinned when Jinwoo gave him one of his looks.

“Am I like invisible or something? I’m right here.”

“I said it for you to hear, don’t worry,” Myungjun cackled and jumped off Minhyuk’s back, hiding behind Jinwoo before the younger could properly aim a swipe at him.

“What’s Rocky Swag?” Sanha whispered into Minhyuk’s ear, making him jump for the second time that night. He turned around and looked right into Sanha’s eyes. They stared at each other like that for a while, Minhyuk searching for something he didn’t know the name of. Not even sure if he’d found it or not, Minhyuk broke the contact first by blinking and looking away.

“Give me your number and I’ll let you know,” he eventually settled on, causing both Myungjun and Jinwoo to choke on their slushee.

“What the actual—“

“Rocky Swag has game, I’m shoOK.”

“Please shut up,” Minhyuk closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Sanha still looked a little surprised by the shorter male’s words.

“Deal.”

Myungjun’s whooping and hollering was enough to drown out anything Minhyuk had to say in response to Sanha so he simply smiled and pulled his phone out of his pocket, handing it over to Sanha.

 

**_From: Yoon Sanha e u e_ **

_so... rocky swag huh_

 

Minhyuk stared at his phone for a good thirty seconds, lips pursed in silence before picking up a Chipotle chip and throwing it across the table at Myungjun without warning. The eldest spluttered and picked up the chip from his lap, confused.

"What'd I do?" Myungjun yelled. At least he knew it was his fault. Jinwoo just snorted from beside him and snatched the chip from his hand, munching down on it before the other could take it back.

 

**_From: ROCKY SWAG :')))_ **

_why are u like this_

 

Sanha giggled to himself and put down his smoothie to respond. Moon Bin looked over curiously.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, just keep texting your lover boy or something." He got up to switch seats before the other could tickle him in retaliation. Sanha wasn't too far off though. Moon Bin had added Dongmin on Snapchat and ever since then it was game over. He never left his phone. Sometimes Sanha caught the other making cute faces at his phone and it was almost painful to watch.

 

**_From: Yoon Sanha e u e_ **

_so are u gonna tell me or nah_

 

Minhyuk stared at his phone again, chewing on his bottom lip as he contemplated the best possible response.

"Just ask him on a boba date or something. Everyone loves boba," Jinwoo suggested. Minhyuk looked up, surprised. Jinwoo just blinked. "What? It's so obvious you're talking to that Sanha kid right now." He must've been psychic.

 

**_From: ROCKY SWAG :')))_ **

_boba tomorrow at 3?_

 

Sanha couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. It was a date.

 

The next day, Sanha ended up getting to the boba place first, ordering a mango slush with boba and sitting by the window. He played on his phone for a little while until a tap on the window caught his attention. He looked up from his phone to find Minhyuk on the other side of the glass, waving and smiling so brightly Sanha couldn't help but smile and wave back just as cheerfully. He could feel his heart picking up as Minhyuk made his way over to the door. He looked so damn fine in just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, Sanha just didn't understand how a person could look so good without trying.

"Hey," Minhyuk greeted the younger as he walked over to the seat beside Sanha's.

"Hey! Go get a drink," Sanha nodded toward the cash register.

"What are you drinking?" Minhyuk asked, squinting at the bright yellow drink.

"Mango slush. You want some?" He held out the cup for the other to try so how could Minhyuk say no? He grabbed the drink and leaned forward to take a sip. Sanha's eyes immediately darted to where their fingers were touching but Minhyuk's eyes never left Sanha. They crinkled with glee at the sight of Sanha biting his lip. His ears had gone pink.

"Pretty good," Minhyuk finally settled on, after taking a few extra moments to taste the drink and think about it. Sanha simply nodded and sipped on his drink in lieu of responding.

Minhyuk ended up opting for a regular milk tea instead and found his seat by the window next to Sanha.

“So Rocky Swag?” Minhyuk nearly choked on his boba and had to put his drink down so he could cover his face with both hands.

“I’m starting to think that’s the only reason you want to hang out with me."

"Yikes, you caught me," Sanha smirked, watching Minhyuk from beneath his lashes as he drank his boba. Last Minhyuk checked, Sanha was just a giant child. Since when did he go off thinking he could give looks like that? Minhyuk swallowed and shrugged as nonchalantly as he could.

"Honestly, it's not that big of a deal." Maybe if Minhyuk made it sound like he didn't care, then Sanha wouldn't either. "It's just a nickname I gave myself in high school. I used it as a dancer name."

"A dancer name." It wasn't even a question. Sanha barely lasted a second before his giggles bubbled to the surface and he had to cover his mouth. Minhyuk just nodded and waved his hand, gesturing for Sanha to continue and laugh it off.

"Yes, yes, keep laughing. IT WAS COOL OKAY." Sanha simply laughed harder.

Much of their time was spent that way, with Minhyuk bringing up something of the past and Sanha being his real savage self (the one he'd been keeping under wraps because Moon Bin said he needed to stop being so rude or else no one would like him and to be real honest, Sanha wanted Minhyuk to like him) yet somehow Minhyuk always managed to laugh along with Sanha and take everything in stride. Sometimes he managed a few of his own jabs at Sanha and the latter had to agree, it was refreshing. Minhyuk could joke and take a joke. The fact that they could converse like this had Sanha feeling jittery and wired up. They were talking and hanging out at that moment but suddenly he couldn't wait until the next time they saw each other again.

"So how's Moon Bin and Dongmin hyung doing?" Minhyuk asked, shaking his empty cup around in front of him like that might make it magically refill. Sanha simply rolled his eyes.

"So freaking cringey. Haven't you seen?" Minhyuk shook his head with a smile.

"Dongmin hyung lives a little further away so I don't see him as often as I see the others. I haven't seen him since the carnival night because he got a new job too," the dancer explained, snatching the still unfinished mango slush from Sanha's hand and stealing a sip. It was practically just diluted mango juice at that point.

"Well consider yourself lucky because I have to watch Bin hyung send cute snaps of himself and sound all mushy on the phone. It's so weird. I'm not used to it." Sanha shuddered simply thinking about it.

"I'm guessing he's not normally like that?" He let the cup go when Sanha swiped it back.

"Nope!" Sanha replied, popping the _p_.

"Well deal with it because neither is Dongmin hyung but I'm actually really excited for him. I really hope things work out for them," Minhyuk confessed with a shy grin. Sanha immediately melted at that. This Minhyuk guy was incredibly soft for someone who used to be called Rocky Swag in high school.

"Why you gotta make me look like the bad guy now?" Sanha had to pull his eyes away from the other or else it'd be super obvious he was just as soft for him.

"Trust me, you don't need me to do that for you, you manage that very well on your own."

"Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?" Sanha leaned back with his palm over his chest, mock offended. Minhyuk just grabbed the mango slush one last time and finished off the drink loudly.

"Means you're a brat." Sanha had half the mind to look somewhat offended before deflating with a shrug.

"Well, I guess it's true if you say so too. Bin hyung tells me that probably at least five times a day." Minhyuk snorted at that, trying to inhale the rest of the stray boba at the bottom of Sanha's cup. "Also, excuse me, but that's _my_ drink you just finished."

"Shh, I'll buy you another one, let's go." For some reason, Sanha could only blush and watch as Minhyuk got up from his chair and dumped the empty cups out, heading toward the counter. Something about a cute guy offering to buy him boba was just really getting to him. Or maybe it was just Minhyuk.

Minhyuk turned back around when he noticed Sanha hadn't even left his seat yet. He blinked but then smiled fondly. Sanha would get up if his legs weren't already goo at that point.

"You comin' or not? Free boba, Sanha, pull yourself together." And then there was that little smirk on lips again, like he knew exactly what he was doing to Sanha. The younger could only nod.

"Don't gotta tell me again!"

 

“So,” Myungjun started, and Minhyuk sighed, already knowing that tone of voice couldn’t mean anything good. “Are you and Sanha dating?”

Minhyuk opened his mouth to respond because it was automatic at this point but realized he didn’t have a real answer for that. Were they dating? They flirted a lot over text and sent each other Snapchats of Moon Bin and Dongmin sending each other Snapchats and they met up more and more often but— the question still held. He closed his mouth and hummed. He picked up a french fry in front of him and stared at it like it had all the answers. But all the fry made him think of was Sanha.

“I don’t know.”

“Why not?”

“Hyung, please.”

“Just date him already! What happened to Rocky Swag? I thought you woulda bagged that kid already!” Jinwoo looked up from his phone and grimaced.

“Babe, Sanha is not a grocery item. Stop using slang like that, you sound dumb.” Minhyuk nodded in agreement. Myungjun simply shrugged.

“But I am dumb.”

“Babe.”

“Okay, okay!” Minhyuk simply shook his head in disapproval and proceeded to send a Snap of his double chin with a fry hanging out of his mouth to Sanha. To make him jealous because Minhyuk had fries of course.

“Minhyuk, just do whatever your heart tells you. And move at your own pace. Don’t listen to Myungjun who has no place in telling you to hurry up because he took two years to confess to me—”

“Hey!”

“—and no matter what, you know we support you. Even though you are a brat.” The last bit was added with a quirk of Jinwoo’s lips and Minhyuk could feel his heart warming at his friend’s words. It was times like these that reminded Minhyuk that even though his friend group was literally just four guys (six now?) screaming and being general dorks together, he wouldn’t trade them in for anyone else. Deep down inside they understood him (like _deep down_ ) and cared for him and were basically just perfect for him.

He looked down at his phone and smiled, though whether it was because of what Jinwoo said or because of the Snap Sanha sent him back of him with freshly bought McDonald’s fries, Minhyuk couldn’t be too sure. Perhaps a little of both.

“Thanks hyung. You’re the only normal one. Kind of,” Minhyuk said finally with a small smile. Jinwoo simply put out his fist for the younger to bump and that was the end of that.

Except it wasn’t because now every time he saw Sanha he’d be thinking and wondering the same thing.

Were they dating?

 

A few weeks passed like that. Every time Minhyuk hung out with Sanha alone, he’d find himself zoning out, just staring at Sanha, _wondering_. Neither of them were really _that_ dumb. It was obvious Minhyuk was into Sanha. And if Minhyuk’s Spidey senses were telling him anything, Sanha was into him as well. However, neither of them seemed to be making any other moves other than the occasional flirting and brushing of skin when Sanha leaned in too close while laughing.

Sanha snapping in his face pulled Minhyuk out of his thoughts.

“Sorry, what?”

Sanha frowned, eyebrows furrowing as he stared hard at Minhyuk for a moment. He put his boba cup down with a sigh.

“You’re not listening again.” Minhyuk immediately shrank with guilt. Sanha had been really excited about this new guitar his parents got him. He had a performance coming up for some club’s big event and it was just a week away and he’d been practicing _so_ hard and yet, Minhyuk had been too busy wondering what the heck was happening to see what the heck was happening.

“Sorry, I just… was thinking about something?” That only made Sanha’s frown deeper. He didn’t frown often. He pouted, yes, but didn’t really truly frown a lot. It was upsetting Minhyuk just to see it on the other’s face. “I’m sorry, I know you’re excited about this performance, I’ll stop spacing out. Please continue.”

“If you’re bored, just say so. I won’t waste my breath.” Whoa.

“What? No, Sanha, I’m not bored, I was just thinking about something else—“

“Well clearly it was more important than what I was talking about, it’s fine I get it. Sorry, I was probably just being over-excited again, it was dumb,” Sanha mumbled, and Minhyuk could literally see the other closing off and this was new, he’d never really gotten into any kind of argument or fight with the younger before. Sanha had never been mad at him before and he’d never been mad at Sanha. He didn’t even know that the other was even capable of being mad. What the hell was Minhyuk thinking though, of course he could be mad, he was only human.

“No, Sanha, it wasn’t important— wait no, well, yes it was important, but what you were talking about was important too! You have every right to be excited about this performance, I’m sorry, I was being inconsiderate,” Minhyuk could feel his words tumbling out of him frantically and this was new for him too, he didn’t normally get flustered like this but seeing anything but a smile on Sanha’s face was just new for him and he didn’t know well enough how the other worked yet to make it all better. He wanted to tell Sanha what he was thinking about but maybe this was the wrong time? Maybe that’d just upset Sanha more? Or maybe not? Fuck it.

“It’s fine, let’s just go—“

“Sanha, are we dating?” It was out of his mouth before he could hold it back and Sanha cut himself off, blinking.

“I— what?” Well shock factor definitely knocked the annoyance out of Sanha. Minhyuk racked his brain for words.

“That’s what I was thinking about. I just really like you and I couldn’t help thinking and wondering everyday for the past month and every time I see you, whether we’re dating or not. Maybe it’s just me but I am so _freaking_ attracted to you—“

“Yes!” Sanha yelled abruptly, eyes wide like he was surprised at himself for blurting that out. Minhyuk’s sentence died on his tongue and he completely forgot where he was going with that sentence but was it really important anymore? Probably not.

“Yes?”

“Yes…”

The elder had to bite his lip to keep from smiling too hard.

“So we’re dating now?”

“Yes, you moron, how many times are you going to make me say it?” Sanha muttered, flushing and hunching over into himself. Minhyuk stood suddenly, the force of it knocking his chair back, and he could vaguely hear the screeching of metal against the ground but mostly all he could hear was his heart thumping aggressively, and he reached over the table to grab Sanha’s face before the other could lean back more, pulling him forward.

The squeal Sanha let out had Minhyuk stopping short an inch away from Sanha’s face, eyes glued to Sanha’s. They were squeezed shut and _goodness_ was he precious. Everyone in the boba place was probably looking over at them now. They were about to be _that_ couple. Did Minhyuk care one bit? Nope.

The moment Sanha dared to crack open his eyes, Minhyuk laughed, eyes crinkling, and pressed a chaste kiss to the younger’s lips.

 

“That’s you? Oh my God, I was right, you _were_ a little nerd,” Minhyuk snickered as he flipped a page in their high school yearbook, pointing at a picture of Sanha’s performance for their school’s talent show.

“Okay, but check me out with this glow up though?” Sanha rested his chin in his hand and tilted his head so he could look up at Minhyuk and make kissy faces. Without warning, Minhyuk lurched forward and landed a peck on the corner of Sanha’s mouth, causing the other to pull back and let out another one of his signature screams.

Sanha was always all talk, provoking Minhyuk until the other finally stepped over the line and did something. Yet, every time Minhyuk so much as leaned toward him, Sanha would squeal and cover his face, flushing all the way to his ears. It brought much joy to Minhyuk to see Sanha squirm and squeal, embarrassed but still excited. Sometimes, Minhyuk would pucker his lips and pretend to go in for a kiss in front of their friends, just to see Sanha shriek and lean away. Others might’ve found it weird, might’ve thought Minhyuk was being mean or that Sanha didn't really like him, but almost immediately after, Sanha would latch onto Minhyuk’s arm and rest his chin on his shoulder.

Myungjun and Dongmin had teased Minhyuk about his new relationship but Dongmin’s teasing was short-lived considering Moon Bin was now in the equation which meant he had no real leverage over Minhyuk. Jinwoo was the only one who pulled Minhyuk aside to tell him he was happy for him but also concerned, told him to be careful and don’t go breaking other people’s hearts. Minhyuk had literally laughed in his face and asked,

“Have you seen Sanha’s face? If anyone’s heart is going to break it’s probably going to be mine, let’s be real.”

And that had been that.

“What song did you perform at the talent show?” Minhyuk asked, flipping the page again only to find that his own face was on the next page. He slammed the book closed before Sanha could see. It was a picture of him derping on stage and there was no way he was going to show Sanha that.

“Busker Busker’s _Cherry Blossom Ending_ ,” Sanha smiled simply at the thought. It was likely a fond memory.

“Do you still remember it?” Minhyuk asked, nodding at the guitar propped up on its stand in the corner of Sanha’s bedroom. It seemed to be well-kept, not dusty or dirty at all.

“Yeah, you wanna hear?”

“God, please.”

**Author's Note:**

> \- honestly i didn't know where this story was going at all as i was writing it...  
> \- can you tell the ending is me just giving up on life altogether??? bcos it was  
> \- find me on [tumblr](http://jakganim.tumblr.com) :)))


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